DIY Modern Rustic Wall Hanging

DIY Modern Rustic Wall Hanging

I am soooo excited to have recently teamed back up with 5 super creative bloggers to bring you another round of inspired DIY projects! We started this series last year and had so much fun that we decided to bring it back.

The first Monday of the month, from now until August, we will each share a DIY project inspired from a specific store we love.

DIYs Inspired By…

When you are on a tight budget or in a creative funk, sometimes browsing online or retail shops is just the thing you need to get those wheels turning, and inspire you to create something for your home. This month our store inspiration comes from Anthropologie, which is one shop I can browse around for hours. It’s easy to get lost on their website and fill up Pinterest boards with fashion, home and wedding inspiration.

So here it is, round one of the series! First I will share my inspiration project, a DIY Modern Rustic Wall Hanging, but be sure to hop on over to check out the additional inspiration projects at the bottom of this post.

It all started with these Gilded Wall Sculptures

We’ve been making some changes to the master bedroom and I recently decided that I wanted to hang either plants or lanterns on the sides of our new large scale wall art. Then one day while browsing the Anthro website I came across this gilded grain wall sculpture:

I love the the mix of modern with rustic and thought this would be a fun way to incorporate some more metallics into our bedroom, which would match our curtain rod and pipe drawer pulls on our dresser and nightstands.

The reclaimed wood used in these sculptures is really cool, but at $400 a pop, that’s definitely out of my budget for a rustic wall hanging. Yikes!

I used these sculptures as a jumping off point when it came to creating a modern rustic wall hanging for our room that could be both pretty and functional. Since I already had some of the materials on hand this project cost me less than $25, woot-woot!

How to Create a Modern Rustic Wall Hanging

Measure and Cut the Wood to size

I purchased some old barnwood from a vendor at Queen of Hearts Antiques, and used less than a third of it for this project. Although I used salvaged wood, you can certainly use new wood for this project and even get it pre-cut at the hardware store.

The first thing I did was figure out the size I wanted the vertical wood to be and then cut it down to size. For those who are curious, the size of the wood we used was approximately 7″ x 30″.

Sand + Stain

Afterwards the 2 pieces of wood were sanded down and then stained with Golden Oak. I LOVE how rich the color turned out! Originally I was just going to do a light sanding to get rid of any splinters, but I love how refined and rustic the stain turned out.

Oh and I did sand the ends of the wood with the belt sander to try and create a more natural line vs. keeping the straight end, which you may notice in a few of the photos below.

You can see the difference in the photo below:

Get your Gild on

Although the inspiration piece was gilded on half of the wood, I decided I wanted mine to cover 1/3 of the wood instead. So once the stain was dry I measured out a third of the board and marked it off with some painter’s tape.

I should also mention that although I haven’t yet mastered the art of foiling, I am learning and am not as intimidated by it as I used to be. I am also leaning not to be as impatient, and to let the adhesive sit there longer before applying the foil.

I had picked up some copper leaf from the craft store with a 40% off coupon and followed the directions to add it to the bottom of one of the boards. I had previously used some gold leaf on my wood shim art, as well as on some canvas art, and was looking forward to testing out the copper version.

I actually went to a couple of craft stores looking for some gold foil, but they were all out so I decided just to use some Liquid Gold that I had left from my armoire makeover. I applied it to the second board using a foam brush and used the tape line as a guide. After about 10 minutes I removed the tape and BAM, instant gratification 🙂

Gold Foil vs. Liquid Leaf vs. Spray Paint

Let me just say that the copper leaf looks absolutely beautiful but if I were to do this again I would probably use liquid copper because it is even easier and less messy. Spray paint is another option although it may not have the same reflective qualities as the foil.

Seal it

After everything was dry I sprayed both boards with some clear sealer.

Add the Hooks

Then when that was dry we measured and screwed in a 6″ plant bracket onto each board. {I originally tried using some 9″ brackets we had, but they were too long and looked a bit funny to me}. These 6″ brackets were purchased at Walmart for about $4 each, and they just so happened to have 2 left in stock. Whew! If you want to use these as simple modern-rustic wall art, then you can skip the hooks and go straight to adding the hanging hardware.

I wanted a hook that would easily allow me to hang a plant, lantern, etc. and didn’t want one that was too short or too long and these seemed to work perfectly.

Hanging Hardware

Hanging hardware was added to the back of each board, ensuring that it could hold up at least 20 pounds.

Add Lanterns

I originally thought I would hang some aqua vintage mason jars from the hooks, but even my quart size jars were too small in proportion to the vertical wood hanging. So instead I hung up a couple glass lanterns I found on sale at Kirklands for $8 each. I love how the colors of the potpourri/vase filler compliments the wall art, and how the rich wood and metallic colors warm the space up a bit. Not to mention we can create romantic lighting with the tealight candles inside {which I will probably switch out to battery operated ones}.

The Finished Modern Rustic Wall Hanging:

In the future I may switch them out for some hanging plants to add a bit of greenery or pretty flowers. I can’t wait to show you the rest of the room!

So what do you think of our rustic wall hanging?

If you have wood, paint and hooks in your home then you can most likely make a version of these rustic wall hanging for free!

Don’t forget to check out the AH-MAZING additional projects inspired by Anthropologie at the links below:

Thank you Trisha! Gold foiling is fun and you should definitely give it a try! My biggest mistake is that I never wait as long as I’m supposed to for the adhesive to dry a bit before adding the foil, and then it doesn’t stick as well and I have to do multiple applications. Live and learn, right? 🙂

Thanks Amy! I thought about creating just the art and hanging them up horizontally above the tv in our bedroom, but then decided this would be the perfect backdrop for some wall hangings I was looking to make anyway 🙂

Thanks Brynne! I love me some salvaged wood, but honestly had no idea the wood would look so rich and beautiful with that stain added on there, which then helps the gold and copper pop off even more. It definitely seems to blend the modern and rustic together in a combo that I love 🙂

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Hi there! I'm Katie and this is my husband Eric, and we're the faces behind Mountain Modern Life (formerly Upcycled Treasures), where we share our love for all things DIY, rustic-modern, and re-imagined. Our goal is to inspire YOU to create the environment you’ve always wanted, whether that’s through design, a certain lifestyle, or a combination of both. You can learn more about us here.

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